Anonymous PLAB 1 Experience (V)

(This post was originally written on 30th April 2017 for my blog. The writer chose to remain anonymous. I would like to thank them for sharing their experience)

Looking back a few months ago, I never imagined I would be sitting down to write my PLAB 1 success story, and yet here I am!

I am sharing my experience because when I was preparing for my exam, I felt so utterly hopeless, I was on the verge of giving up, but I kept going, in spite of the odds being strongly against me. I want to encourage people like myself who couldn’t prepare for the exam as well as they wanted to, for whatever reasons or circumstances.

When I booked PLAB 1, I had precisely 33 days till the exam. I joined the facebookPlab group and downloaded the required study material. Having read a few posts by senior PLABBERS regarding preparation, I made a sketch of my study plan which included doing Samson notes, 1700 MCQs, multiple mocks and topics from OHCM. And that was the end of that, because, for the next 2 weeks, I couldn’t even start working on my study plan due to various reasons.

So basically, when I finally sat down to study, I had only 15 days left till the exam!!! And I was PANICKING!!!

Everyone around me was so well prepared, people were practicing mocks and doing their third-time revisions and here I was, with no clue where to begin. I was sure my exam was doomed!

So after multiple anxiety attacks, I said to myself, I’ve paid the fee anyways, and it’s not like I’m going to get a refund by cancelling the exam at this point, so I’ll just go ahead with it, It’ll give me some experience for the next attempt at the very least.

I picked up the Sush Unity MCQs files and starting doing the MCQs. I would like to add that I’m a very average student and a slow learner. So in those 15 days, I was only able to do 1000 MCQs. That’s right, I gave the exam, having done ONLY a 1000 MCQs!

I didn’t do any mocks, I didn’t read any notes, I didn’t even touch OHCM, Heck, I didn’t even complete the 1700 MCQs!

You can very well imagine how under-prepared I felt for the exam. But, by this point, I was done panicking and was considering this attempt to be just a practice exam!!

So when I arrived on the exam venue on 16th March 2017 I knew there was no chance I was going to pass this exam. The venue was buzzing with people, chattering away about how they had prepared for the exam and the mocks they had practiced. A few people lingering here and there, having a final look at their notes. I chose a quiet corner to sit down and patiently waited for the exam to begin.

During the exam, I had only one target: To keep track of time and answer all questions. And that’s exactly what I did. When I didn’t know the answer to a question (and believe me, there were many), I would quickly choose whatever option made the most sense to me, and move to the next question.

When I came out of the exam hall, I was sure that I would fail my exam.

And then came the Result Day. When I was opening my GMC account I was still sure I was going to fail. And a few seconds later, I saw the word “PASS”.

I had to blink a few times to realize that I had read correctly! I had passed the exam with a score of 130. It wasn’t a great score, but it was a Pass, and that was more than enough for me!

So, to put it in a nutshell, DON’T GIVE UP!!! DON’T LOOSE HOPE!!! STAY POSITIVE!!! Keep on working till the very last moment. Don’t fret about not being able to study as much as you wanted to. Just do as much as you can.

This exam is about time management and basic knowledge. Don’t overthink. Don’t Overanalyze. Just choose the first answer that comes to your head.

If my story can give hope to even a single person who is frustrated or feeling down, then I’ll believe that my purpose for writing this experience has been accomplished.